Brothers Scott and Chris Pontikes open the first Scotty P’s Hamburgers in Frisco in 1999.[/caption]
Frisco resident Scott Pontikes remembers when Frisco had only 18,000 people and his startup burger joint, Scotty P’s Hamburgers, was one of the few restaurants in the city.
Now Frisco is nearing 158,000 people and more than 100 restaurants, while Scotty P’s Hamburgers has opened another six locations including an additional restaurant in Frisco.
Scott and his brother, Chris, own all seven Scotty P’s Hamburgers locations including one in Garland. Aside from selling burgers, the restaurant also serves chicken tenders, chili, sandwiches and more.
In each location, the walls are lined with large, historic photographs that are a nod to the history of that city and the Pontikes family.
Scott opened the first Scotty P’s Hamburgers in Frisco on Preston Road on Dec. 16, 1999, and by doing so he fulfilled a lifelong dream of owning his own restaurant.
“I’ve been working in restaurants since I was 14 years old, and when I was in middle school I told my dad that I wanted to own a restaurant someday,” Scott said.
Working in the restaurant business is a family tradition. Scott and Chris’ father, Michael Pontikes, from a young age worked in taverns and bakeries during the Great Depression in a small suburb of Chicago. Michael, who died in 2010, spent close to 64 years of his life in the restaurant business, including helping his sons open their own restaurant.
The loaded Cardiac Cheese Fries is served with bacon and jalepenos.[/caption]
“It’s been a family affair since the start,” Chris said. “And what he instilled in us was hard work and an old-school style that has made our business successful.”
Scott and Chris said one of those old-school methods is that everything has to be fresh.
“With the influx of new people coming into the marketplace, that’s their big selling point, that everything is fresh, but that’s the way it’s always been for us,” Scott said. “The quality of the product has to be far beyond just being a cool place to go eat.”
Chris said another lesson their father taught them was old-school service, which means knowing and engaging with customers.
The brothers also said knowing the community is important.
When they first started, Chris said they use to take chili to the Frisco City Council meetings to introduce the Scotty P’s brand to the community.
After Frisco, they opened locations in Allen, McKinney and Plano in a 10-year period. In 2009, they opened a second Frisco location, which is their newest and seventh location.
“The progression made sense for us,” Chris said. “All these towns were built on the backs of the people who lived in those communities. And we knew the communities were similar to one another so our family-oriented concept works in each one.”
Chris P. Chicken Tenders are served with sweet potato fries.[/caption]
Scott said some of the most popular dishes include the Hatch Green Burger, served with fire-roasted hatch green chilies, jalapeno pepper jack cheese and crispy onion strings; and the Chris P. Chicken Tenders, hand-breaded chicken tenders served with sweet potato fries.
“It was a good idea to start [in Frisco], a very grass-roots place, and we grew as the community grew,” Scott said. “We evolved to be efficient and still serve quality food. It was a great way to introduce us to the community, ingrain ourselves and learn how to do the job the right way.”
Frisco: 4710 Preston Road, Ste. 300 972-712-6556 West Frisco: 5110 Eldorado Parkway, Ste. 300 972-377-7070 www.scottyps.com Hours: Mon.-Thu. 11 a.m.-8:30 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.-7 p.m.
